Mindfulness meditation is an effective way to train your mind and body to relax and to be more welcome and accepting of whatever comes your way. If you’ve never tried it, here’s your chance! Headspace makes learning meditation through mindfulness easy. You learn online (on your computer or using an app on a tablet or your phone) in just 10 minutes a day.
Stress & Anxiety
Stress and anxiety are a normal part of life. Mindfulness training teaches you how to take a step back from both stress and anxiety, so you’re better prepared to respond to stressful thoughts and situations.
Life can be stressful, and stress can have serious repercussions on our health. At one time or another, many of us will have experienced that sense of being overwhelmed, as if everything were too much.
Sometimes, simply taking time to pause and rest the mind can be enough to feel better in the moment.
Pain Management
Existing research suggests that in-person meditation training helps people manage pain by changing the way they relate to unpleasant feelings. In an innovative study, Headspace is collaborating with Queen Mary University London and Bart’s Health NHS Trust to test the effects of the Headspace Pain Management pack on chronic pain patients. If you’re already a Headspace subscriber, the Pain Management pack is available for you to try, right now in the Headspace app. If you suffer from lower back pain, kidney pain, muscle spasms or headaches, meditation might just help you change your relationship with these difficult physical sensations without pain medication.
Is app-based meditation effective?
A research study using Headspace found that three weeks of mindfulness meditation resulted in increased compassionate behaviors toward others in everyday life. The positive impact of meditation has also been confirmed in populations suffering from insomnia, with eight weeks of in-person mindfulness training resulting in improved total wake time and quality of sleep. The Headspace science team, in collaboration with Guy’s and St. Thomas Hospital in the UK, are currently investigating the effects of Headspace on people with chronic insomnia. And, a meta-analysis of digital mindfulness training found significant positive impact on stress, anxiety, depression and well-being in over 2,000 individuals, suggesting that the benefits of digital meditation are similar to those of in-person training.